[Lubmin=AP/Newsis] The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline passing through Lubmin in northern Germany. File photo. 2025.01.01
[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Lee Jae-jun: Russia has stopped supplying natural gas to Europe via pipelines through Ukraine, as reported by Xinhua, AFP, and TASS news agencies on the 1st.
According to the media, Russian energy company Gazprom announced on Telegram that it had cut off the gas supply due to the expiration of a five-year gas transit agreement, which Ukraine refused to extend.
The contract, signed on December 30, 2019, involved the transportation of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory and cooperation between Gazprom and Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz.
Gazprom stated that the related contract expired at 8 a.m. Moscow time (2 p.m. Korean time) on the 1st.
Gazprom criticized Ukraine for repeatedly and unilaterally rejecting the contract renewal, claiming it has deprived them of the technical and legal means to continue transporting gas through Ukrainian territory.
As a result, the only remaining pipeline transporting Russian natural gas is the TurkStream, which crosses the Black Sea to Türkiye.
The Yamal Stream, which passes through Belarus, has already stopped, and the Nord Stream, which traverses the Baltic Sea to Germany, was damaged in 2022.